1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card case for encapsulating a card or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, collectors have collected, exchanged, or traded cards such as trading cards. Trading cards (hereinafter may be referred to merely as cards) have printed thereon photographs of sports personalities, such as baseball players, football players, and basketball players, images of animated characters, photographs of movie stars or scenes, photographs of idols, and the like. Trading cards include game cards. A card can carry a piece of a jersey worn by a sports personality, an autograph of a sports personality, or the like. An IC chip or the like incorporated in a card can contain, for example, audio information and video information pertaining to a sports personality.
Cards of a limited number of issue and rare cards are traded at high prices among collectors.
A grading company evaluates cards to be traded for conditions and assign the cards evaluation points with respect to individual conditions, and an overall evaluation point on a multi-level scale. This evaluation is usually called grading. Graded cards are encapsulated in respective card cases in a sealed condition. The thus-prepared cards are called trading cards. A card case may be used in an unsealed condition and adapted merely to prevent breakage or deterioration of a card or adhesion of stain to the card for preservation of card condition.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2002-079781 discloses a trading card having an opening through which can be seen a thin piece of associated memorabilia (a piece of a uniform worn by a sports personality, a of piece of a garment worn by an entertainer, a piece of paper bearing actual writing, or the like) is visible.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2002-049312 discloses a trading card allowing bidirectional communication between a card owner and a famous figure appearing thereon by means of recording video or audio information thereon or reproducing such information therefrom.
However, not all cards are of the same thickness. For example, card thickness may differ depending on whether card material is paper or plastic. Also, cards that incorporate an IC chip may be thicker than ordinary cards. Some cards incorporate therein, for example, a piece of a uniform worn by a sports personality, or a piece of paper bearing actual writing, and thus their thickness is increased.
When card cases are to be provided in order to encapsulate distributed cars, various card cases must be prepared so as to cope with different card thicknesses.